Intoxicating Desert Rose
by x0Aishiteru
Summary: Two broken souls are thrown together without their wanting. Both are lost and have given up hope. They clash and argue, wanting nothing more then to leave. But yet...they're drawn to the other. The other is is like a drug...mysterious...intoxicating.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note: **Okay, so to be perfectly honest, this is my first ever Naruto fanfiction and I'm really, really nervous right now and very scared. I'm not sure how many mistakes I made with the characters, nor how many mistakes I made with grammar or punctuation. But I don't have a beta reader so it's kind of hard for me to edit my own story. Anyways, I really hope you like the story and the idea I came up with! It just...there's going to be a lot more plot to it but this is just to kick it off, give the story some drive first. Anyways, don't forget to review. Ja ne!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own any of the Naruto characters or places or anything about it. Just my sad little story idea.

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**Intoxicating Desert Rose**

**By Ryika**

**Chapter One**

Four years.

Four years since the "incident"had come to pass.

Four years since the curse had been removed from him and left him to die.

Four years since the empty hollow emptiness within him had seized control of his heart.

Four years since the woman who had cursed him at his mother's death bed and his birthing had, in an attempt to redeem herself, sacrificed herself for his life.

Now, he was stronger. It was all that he had left to do beyond the paperwork of being Kazekage in the Village Hidden in the Sand, also known as Suna. There was nothing else that mattered any more beyond the state of his village and its safety before his. There was nothing left for the young man of nineteen years old who had been nothing but feared and hated his entire life, even by his own siblings.

His teammates.

Kankuro and Temari.

They were the only two who still stuck by him even if his demeanor had changed, his entire attitude becoming the exact opposite of what he used as his weapon. The two had noticed, he knew, but they had never once approached him about the way in which he treated them, never spoken against it as if silently understand it was his way of coping with the loneliness that had replaced the cursed blood lust that had once raged within.

He missed the nights of meditation and star gazing, of pacing and thoughts that ran like clockwork within the confines of his mind that had seemed to unhinge itself with the lack of sleep. Now, he felt exhaustion like any other, felt the need to recuperate his energy. Another thing had come to haunt him, to curse him with its existence, to be hated by him for everything that it was.

Sleep.

He did not wish to sleep nor did he like it. The loss of hours, the not knowing of what could have occurred, the seemingly peaceful bliss of it, the fabric of closing your eyes and it being one hour and then the next, another hour. He hated every last bit of it but one piece he loathed above all others.

The dreams.

They weren't dreams. They were nightmares. All those that he had come across were present in them, once again playing out his childhood. Memories come back to make him relive the agony all over again, to make him realize that no longer did he hold a monster within him but that he was still a monster in the way he had come to be perceived, in the very way in which he lived his life. Sometimes they were different, worse then the memories and the people that forced him to relive the past. All in the same, he hated the nightmares, the memories, the past itself.

Emotionless green eyes, holding a hollow sense of life, moved to the side very slightly. Rimmed in black, they had a sinister appearance to them. The expression upon his face did not detract from the sinisterness of them anymore, but merely added. Such as the small frown that tugged down the corners of thin lips perpetually. The frown deepened slightly and a furrow appeared on his brow before disappearing. The source of the change in expression was soon to known.

"Kazekage."

Sabaku no Gaara slowly tilted his head to the side as he turned to peer at the one that dared to intrude on the strange bout of insomnia that had struck him that night. A light wind ruffled short locks of a fiery ruby and seemed to cause the tattoo of ai upon his forehead to flare slightly. The person blinked slightly, playing it as imagination as they stepped forward and bowed to the Kazekage.

"What?" A curt reply was the answer to the name being spoken, clipped and icy without any emotion present in the deep tone of the voice. Only those sent by the council would dare to disturb him at this time of night when he was amidst his office, his former sanctuary during the long nights. He did not know what to expect as news from council was delivered during the day mostly, but if it were serious, then it would be something delivered to him now.

Grimacing at the curt tone, the deliverer of the message knew he should have been accustomed to the iciness beneath the hollow quality to it. Having been around since after the attack by Akatsuki, he had grown accustom to the fact that the former Jinchuuriki host was aloof and haughty most of the time around others. But yet, the voice was something he could not grow use to. It was as if he were talking to pure ice, coldness that no longer was a human vessel but instead something that was merely present there in their lands. "The council wished me to seek you out and inform you that they are holding an emergency meeting in the morning hours due to something that has come to light."

A hum was heard from Gaara as he turned his back on the message bearer. He knew what it would be about. It had been something they had been chasing him about for a year now. Ever since his eighteenth birthday and now that the nineteenth had come to pass, they would be after him about it more persistent then before. It was pertinent that he do what they asked but yet...

The deliverer bowed once again before disappearing into the shadows, stealthily jumping to the higher platform of the roof to return to his post as look out over the deserts that extended beyond the city walls. He wondered at what could be so important but sooner or later, it would leak. It always did. Nothing could be hidden for long from the villagers and the council knew such. But at the moment, that was not of his concern and as he returned to his post, delivering a nod to his comrade, the two took their positions and continued the never ending look for danger that may approach the city of Suna.

Emerald eyes narrowed upward at the stars as they looked upon them. Thoughts once again ran like a cycle through his mind except on a different path. One not so unhinged as the one before. Why they pushed so hard for this, Gaara did not know. The alliances were strong as far as he knew beyond the festival affair that had happened in the outskirts of Konoha. But yet, something was amiss.

Tomorrow, he would find out why. He would find out why it was so important, why he must search harder and harder for the one that would make this issue go away. The only problem that he found was that...

None were worthy.

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"Hn."

The hum was the only answer that was spawned from Gaara in greeting to the council members that properly bowed before him as he entered the room. Although he never spoke of it, it was one thing he preferred that they would not do. It irked him.

"Greetings, Kazekage-sama. We will now begin the meeting, if you so please it." Walking bout the table to the seat he normally sat in, his eyes never left it as he slowly lowered himself into it before his jade gaze moved swiftly to the man who had spoken. A brief nod was given as another hum came from the man before the council members were exchanging glances. Although having been about him for five years, none were used to the manner in which he gave an answer. The "hn" could mean something different every time he used it. So it was with caution that they all took their appropriate seats.

A silence soon closed in about the room as Gaara waited for the men to speak, watching them with a blank stare as he waited but yet all seemed to be focused upon him, almost as if waiting for a sign. _Tch. Fools. I have better things to do then wait for them to begin._ "What is it that was so important you called for an emergency meeting, council members?" During the entire time he had been present as Kazekage, he had never referred to any of them by their appropriate name, instead choosing to talk to them as a group instead of singularly.

"Oh, right, Kazekage-sama. Let us begin then." The man who had spoken before pulled from his lap a manilla folder, laying it on the round table top that sat in the middle of the conference room and flipped it open, exposing to the council papers that must have been the source of the emergency meeting. Although never one to be patient, Gaara had learned that they never moved fast and as Kazekage, patience was something desperately needed in order to perform it properly. "Something has come to all of our attention concerning the Village Hidden in the Leaves. Konoha, as you may know it, has been an ally for many years now since they asked for our help in retrieving Uchiha Sasuke. I do believe that you were part of the genin team that was sent to help rescue him, aiding Uzumaki Naruto and Haruno Sakura on the mission."

"Hn." Gaara remembered the mission too well. They had failed. It was the only mission that he had failed during his time as a genin. _Curious. Why would they mention the Fire and Wind Land alliance? At last meeting they claimed it was strong... _

"It seems that during the past two weeks, matters have arisen. If you remember, the last time we were present in Konoha was for the festival that they were throwing in honor of our alliance that has lasted four years. Our villagers were invited to join in and it was during this time that problems began to arise between the villagers of the Leaf and villagers of the Sand. Riots and protests have broken out here and there, apparently, in an attempt to dissuade the alliance between our two villages." As the old mad had spoke, his words coming slowly as he caught his breath and rambled on, his voice a monotone buzz to Gaara's ear, his attention had peaked.

Gaara was now fully focused upon what the council member was saying. The riots and protests had reached his ears. It was hard not to hear when they held their protests right outside the Kazekage tower. But he did not know that things had fallen to this. _The council is hiding things from me. After four years, they still think me incapable._ The thought caused a glower to etch into his features but soon vanished as a small frown took its place.

"The Fifth Hokage has contacted us in some attempt at reconciliation, apologizing for the behavior of her villagers. She has tried to speak with them but apparently, they are refusing to listen and so she has no choice but to seek out solutions from her own council and ours." A pause and a breath were taken as the old man shut his eyes, removing the glasses that donned his face and rubbing at his eyes as if he were weary. "The matters grow worse with each day that pass. More actions are being taken against Wind nation villagers that have travelled to Konoha hoping to start over with their lives. The same has been occurring here. They are being alienated and purposefully targeted as if they brought the alliance down upon them."

It was strange how calm the man could sound about it when talking of one of their strongest allies and about how their alliance had reached a breaking point with them. But yet, Gaara himself was calm. He did not see how this concerned him other then the fact that something would have to be said to the villagers. It was no cause for an emergency meeting.

"The Fifth Hokage has sent a message to us as of early this morning speaking of a matter that has occurred that we felt you should know about it." _Finally, he gets to the entire point of this emergency meeting. _"A family was found murdered last night in their home and store. The murderers have already been caught and taken care of. Normally this would not concern us...but the murdered family was that of Wind Nation. It was a hate crime done toward our people. It seems matters have taken a turn for the worse and something must be done immediately or else more will lose their lives to the silly peoples' beliefs."

Murdered.

He had done that before but never out of hate, out of a need, justifying that the killing was his way of making his existence known by doing so. Becoming powerful. But yet...

His people had been harmed in a hate crime done towards his nation. _Why did they not inform me of this situation sooner!?_ Anger now bubbled within him although outwardly he kept a cool persona, continuously listening to what the council member was doing. The people of the villages had no say in what their leaders chose to do. It was the leaders decision and not their own on what happened for the best of the village and they knew it very well. But it seemed, lately, that all were having trouble with villagers that did not believe they were making the right choices. Gaara was well aware of it having talked with several Kages himelf and knowing of their situations. But this was the worst.

Murder.

What levels would they stoop to?

"A meeting is going to be called between our two councils and while we are meeting to discuss some way in order to resolve this situation, the Hokage has felt it best if during that time both of you talk to your respectful villages. A notice has already been sent out for when you will speak to the people about what has happened. I trust that you will make this happen, Kazekage-sama. We do not any more blood upon our hands. The war has caused too much already." A silence ensued as Gaara stared down the man that was now giving him advice. Gaara knew what he had to do; he did not need someone to tell him that.

"Hn." It was the only answer he could give as he brought his hands up to rest before him, fingers loosely linked with his index fingers touching tips. "I will do what I must. But, council members, this cannot go unnoticed. The villagers must know what has happened. Any measure that must be taken, take it to preserve this alliance."

Looks of shock went about the table as they gazed at the Kazekage. During the time that they had served him, although he had given orders in the past, it was a rare occurrence. Now, though, it seemed he felt the need, to ensure that there would be success on their part in preserving what was left of their allegiance to the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

"We cannot afford with Sound building their army to lose one of our strongest allies. We cannot risk being exposed."

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Silence.

It blanketed the forest thickly.

No songs idly floated about the trees. No movement came from their branches or the underbrush as the silence stretched thicker about. A knife could not have cut through the strength and stillness that grappled it.

And then suddenly, it was broken as the clash of kunai against kunai filled the air and at a rate faster then what could be seen by the human eye, two figures dashed through the trees, attacking one another with a strength that caused the trees and earth to shake. Screeching of metal against metal as they faced off in a battle of strength was heard as figure versus female ensued.

"Tch, hide behind your mask, baka. I will still kill you like I have the others and nothing will stop me." The female's voice was soft, lyrical almost as she strained, pushing back and down but the other's kunai followed with a lightning quick jab of another descending toward the female's throat, but that too was blocked. "Can you not do any better than that? If you can't, then this battle was over before it began." Then they were once again gone, kunais having been forgotten to be lodged in a tree of the forest as they now exchanged rapid blows with another, each blocking with precision and striking with force.

The other that seemed to have no voice in the matter was clothed in unrevealing clothing. Black mesh armor clung to a flat chest beneath a loose black and white yukata, tied about the waist with a gold rope. Black gloves donned the person's hands and head wraps hid their hair from sight so as to not reveal an identity. Traditional ninja sandals adorned their feet and a cherry blossom embedded katana sheath hung from their back with katana still placed within. No telling signs of who it was beyond the white and black mask that clung to their face like a second skin.

It was the traditional mask of an ANBU tracker. A headband wrapped about the top of the mask revealed they were from the Hidden Village in the Leaves and as the female they fought vanished, darting away into the trees, the female performed a fast paced series of hand symbols hard to follow. Instantly shadow clones appeared about her, the words having barely been muttered and then they were gone. A blink of an eye and no longer there.

The female tensed. The tracker's chakra was hidden and she could not feel where they were. This was not good. They had been hunting her for a month now and she was tired, sick of being hunted. Constantly having to watch herself, sleep had evaded her and she was about to collapse, her chakra reserves running so low due to no replenishing time. It scared her that they were this persistent. But then again, she knew secrets. She knew secrets that could help many if she chose to reveal them and at this rate, she would never get the chance.

Suddenly, her gasp cut through the air as she felt the presence behind her by the kunai pressed against the back of her neck, the tip digging in as she sunk a needle of paralysis into it, hitting a major point and then she was gone as the tracker glared down at her now limp form.

"You said I would not walk away from this, but yet, it seems that you are the one who is not walking away. Cruel how life does that, aye? Tch. Weak." The words were monotone and spoken in a gentle voice, a lulling voice with no emotion to it as if it were the waves that crashed onto the beach. That was their only purpose. The sound of a katana being drawn crashed through the air before the tracker stabbed it down and straight through the slowly stilling heart of the female. A gasp and cough of blood was the reaction to the sudden killing blow.

Another one down.

Cleansing the katana on a wipe pulled from a side pouch, the tracker sheathed it once again before picking up the body of their target. It was time to dispose of it all, taking back the headband as proof that they had been disposed of properly and the secrets they had stolen would never be heard by anyone other then those that were meant to know. It was their job to do and they fulfilled their job every time.

Dropping to the ground, the corpse was tossed none too gently onto the grass and a rapid set of hand symbols followed as the tracker said, "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu." Head tilting back, the mask pushed upward slightly, revealing a lower half of a face. Lips parted and suddenly, a large ball of flame spurted from her lips, scorching the area of the body directly hitting it. The smell of burning flesh quickly sprung to the air as the tracker continued until they were sure there would be nothing left by the time the flames dissipated.

Glancing at the underbrush of the forest, the tracker stood for a moment before raising a gloved fist and with chakra building within the punch, they slammed their fist upon the ground and released the chakra, causing the ground to quake and break in the immediate area for about twenty feet in front of them. The body and flaming ground fell. _That should ensure the flames do not spread. A forest fire would raise suspicion. _Glancing back at the body, the tracker leaped into the branches of a tree, staying there until they could no longer see the flames before heading away.

It was time to report to the Hokage.

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Standing before the renowned Fifth Hokage, Tsunade, the tracker knelled, head bowed as they waited for their leader to speak. Finally, Tsunade cleared her throat, the beautiful blonde woman now of fifty-seven years smirking as she watched the serious tracker before her. It was amazing how she had watched them grow up from being one of the weakest to one of the strongest to ever grace the walls of Konoha. "Welcome back. You can remove your uniform if you wish. I already know who you are, tracker."

It was with something of a sigh that the mask was revealed and with it, came the head wraps. It had been far too many times that Tsunade had seen the tracker unravel the head wraps and mask for her to not know who it was by now. Especially since she had trained them.

Short pink locks fell from the covering, falling to shoulder length and slightly past with bangs sporting across her forehead and drooping into her eyes slightly. Sea foam green eyes stared at Tsunade, the glimmer that had been present in the early years of the female's life now gone as she stood tall. "Sakura, it is good to see you again. It has been far too long." The sight of her former student giving a soft smile back at her although it held only a small form of warmness to it was enough for the Hokage. Too many faces had disappeared lately due to the increase in missions.

"Tsunade-chan, it is good to see you as well. I hope that Konoha has faired well during the past month." Rumors had reached her ears before she had even reached the Hokage Tower and Haruno Sakura, ANBU tracker and elite medic-nin, did not like the rumors that had reached her ears. She had not liked them at all. "I have heard things that I hope you dis spell as nothing more then rumors." A pink brow arched delicately as Sakura watched her sensei with sharp, precise eyes.

The sigh that almost inaudibly expelled from Tsunade's mouth almost went unnoticed but not entirely by Sakura. "I am afraid I cannot. What you have heard is true." Instantly Sakura was alert. So the alliance between Suna and Konoha was falling apart and all because of the villagers' idiocy in the matters of politics. Although Sakura once believed them to be nothing of importance, she now knew more and knew that the alliance with the Wind nation was vital. They needed the allies.

Tch. It disgusted her.

A murder. A hate crime.

Against people who had saved them on more then one occasion from Orichimaru's attacks against them. People who had stood by them for four years but yet now...now they deemed it fit to have an issue with them when Orichimaru was once again building his army, hoping to strike swiftly and forcefully unlike what he had done before. Sakura knew he was doing so as the missing-nin she had been assigned to track down was associated with the man.

"The council has already met and we have agreed on what the solution shall be though. We feel it is for the best and although the Kazekage might not be happy with their decision, we have all voted. There is no other choice for us." Tsunade looked drained, as if she had not slept in a week. The thought of someone else who might share her fright of nightmares and so chose to be insomniac caused a smile to curve her lips but it was gone in an instant. She was the only one who was frightened of them, the dreams that haunted her since she had killed _him._

"What solution, if you do not mind my inquiring, is it that you have devised?" As the Hokage's protege, Sakura had grown used to asking her old sensei questions such as the one she had just asked. More then often now, she obtained an answer. At nineteen years of age, she was one of the most accomplished of her age group and had acquired the Hokage's trust and respect on many matters.

"For the last year, since his eighteenth birthday, they have been pushing the Kazekage to find a wife, one from a village within a land that they had weak relations with so that they might form a stronger relation with that land. Now his nineteenth birthday has just passed and they are pushing him harder. The Kazekage has told them time and time again that he has not yet found any worthy of his choosing, none that could handle the life of being the Kazekage's wife." A snort escaped Sakura at the thought although she knew it to be correct.

_If Sabaku no Gaara is still the Kazekage, then he's right. Probably no woman he has come across would survive being his wife let alone the wife of the Kazekage._ Sakura chose to remain quiet, merely nodding as she watched her master.

"With the failing alliance between our two villages, we have decided that his marriage will be between a Konoha kuonichi that he hand picks himself within the next year. If he does not choose by the age of twenty, then she will be chosen for him but there are conditions. She must be of high standing within the eyes of the people and of considerable skill in her ninja ability. Respected, talented, and with a will of her own as to not fade away. The Kazekage has already agreed to this and the last three were his demands in them. So I have forbade those that I see fit the criteria from going on any other missions."

As she listened to the last sentence, a sense of foreboding dropped over Sakura and she shifted in her sandals, her eyes never leaving Tsunade though as the older woman smiled almost apologetically. Why would she smile that way though? _Unless..._

Sakura had barely walked through the gates when being asked her tracker no. Upon telling it to the gate guards, they had told her she was required immediately at the Hokage Tower and had feared the worst. Now she feared what Tsunade had to say next.

_Please, do not..._

"You see, Sakura...I've noticed your work around the hospital and perused through your last missions... You've been doing exceedingly well in the field and in the hospital..."

_Do not tell me..._

"Which is why this makes it so hard for me to say this...I really regret my decision but there is no other choice..."

_Hokage, please...sensei, do not do this to me._

"I really didn't have a choice, and I apologize, Sakura."

_Sensei, no...Tsunade-chan, do not..._

"Until further notice, you are to work only at the Hospital until I say otherwise. Fieldwork is strictly prohibited and you are not allowed to travel outside of the village unless with express permission from myself."

The smile again.

_Sensei...how could you?_

"I'm sorry, Sakura. You are one of the potential brides."

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**So there you go! The end of chapter one and chapter two is in the works right now. Oh, I wonder what's going to happen next...I just started it so I really have no idea myself. I'm just letting it carry me along as my fingers type. So what did you think? What can I work on? Did you like it at all? Let me know by reviewing please.**

**They give me inspiration.**

**Anyways, I really do hope you review and if you have any questions, just ask.**

**Ja ne for now!**

**Ryika**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **And whoosh, the second chapter is here! It took me about seven hours to fully type this thing out and I did it all in one night. I haven't gone through to look for mistakes...once again...I was too eager to post it so you guys are getting it way earlier then I expected it would be out. This thing has been hacked to pieces though compared to what it was originally...so... Anyways! I wanted to thank those that reviewed! Really, I was shocked so many people did. Hehe, looks like this story so far is good. But uhm, here's the chapter. I hope you like!

**Disclaimer: **Look at chapter one.

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**Intoxicating Desert Rose**

**By Ryaka**

**Chapter Two**

The whispers.

They had reached his ears and he was curious.

Curious but also disappointed in his council if they had let something of this importance leak.

They were not up to par and that was something that highly disturbed him considering that the last time they had slacked like this, information having been leaked, Yuura had proven to be a traitor.

As his eyes narrowed, the jade hardening at the thought of another betrayal given the results of the last one, a steely countenance sealed itself over the now normally slightly humored Gaara as he stepped through the doors of the Kazekage Tower.

_I will not uphold a traitor in my council. I will not allow this city to become vulnerable once again. I _refuse _to let that happen. _

Moving through the front lobby, he did not acknowledge those that bowed and knelt before him, merely brushing by them without a second glance. He had become so used to the behavior they represented toward him that he was used to it by now. Even if it did irritate him, there was no chance that he could have them change the behavior that had been placed forth for decades now since the first Kazekage.

His footsteps echoed about him in the halls that he traipsed, proceeding up stairs instead of taking the elevator that he could hear dinging even now. He preferred the walk. Although he used the common day technology like any one else did, he did not believe in it. It made existence easier, yes, but it also made them weaker. They took it all for granted and that was why he did not like it. Growing accustomed to it, what would the common people do when suddenly it was taken away from them and they were left to fend for themselves?

They would have to learn to survive.

Pushing the thoughts away, he promised to entertain it at another time but not right then as he moved up the stairs once more, proceeding to the top floor. He had to focus on the matter at hand such as the whispers that drifted through the streets of the city, the whispers that he should have known about from the start and not just recently learned. As his foot touched the threshold of the top floor, Gaara's eyes narrowed.

Before he even stepped into the hallway that led to his office and then to the council room further down, he could already sense their chakra. All the council members were there, meeting together. He knew that they met without him and he did not mind but in light of the current events, he did mind.

_They're here...they're here which means answers. I will get them in one way or another. I need to know the answers to these whispers and why information has leaked, why it is that we have come across a crack in the secure foundation we have had for the last four years. Why now of all times when it is dire that this information is kept secret._

Moving down the hall, he came to a halt outside the door, for a moment, merely tilting his head to the side and using chakra to focus in on the room. Vaguely, he could sense the pulses of their words as he spoke and he shut his eyes as he clued in on it more, the chakra flowing to his ears and sharpening his sense briefly. They were discussing the solution to the Konoha and Suna alliance issue that was escalating with every day that passed.

_Good. Then they won't mind if I interrupt._

Without bothering to knock, he swept into the room and stalked to the only unoccupied chair available. The council members' faces were aghast with shock, surprise, and, only a few, fear. Gaara had always taken care to never break in on a meeting like this before as to not shock the members. This time, though, called for desperate measures and immediate action on his part and so he was taking it.

As his eyes scanned the faces about him, he searched for one face that might hold guilt but all had quickly recovered and were now watching on with wariness at the Kazekage. They had all stood within the last few minutes to bow before him and it was the only one brave enough to speak to him in that moment, the same man that had explained the issue at the former meeting, that answered his silent question.

"The Fifth Hokage has finally responded with what she feels is the best solution, Kazekage-sama. Our councils have met and we have agreed that it will be the best thing that we can do." So the rumors that he had heard were true. It seemed that the next year of his life would be interesting, if at the very least entertaining on some level.

For a long moment, the man locked eyes with the flat, emerald eyes Kazekage and the gaze did not break as many tended to do with him. He was not afraid of him and although the man respected Gaara, he also challenged him right then to defy what the councils had come to an agreement upon. He openly challenged him with no regard to the consequences. It was something that Gaara respected in the age old council member. The man had been present on the council since his early years as a jonin and had served his father to the best of his abilities, not always agreeing with the man, but still serving the best that he could.

The tension in the room grew thick as the two continued to battle their wills out, challenging the other to say something, to blink, to break the gaze so that one would win and the decision upon the agreement would be decided. But neither did and it was not until Gaara finally parted his lips and released a sigh of reluctance, that the tension finally evaporated and the council members could finally relax without fear of an outburst from one of the two.

"I see. The whispers that have reached my ears hold truth to them after all..." His voice trailed off as the council members waited for him to continue. Glancing about at their faces, a wry smile touched his lips and he chuckled. Intakes of breaths were heard as they had not expected the noise from the once feared man before them. "When it is that we leave?" The old man who had challenged him smiled thoughtfully at the Kazekage before nodding.

"That is yet to be decided. The Hokage will send us word when she has retrieved all of the potentials from their missions and let them know they are on leave until word comes that they are allowed to take up missions once again. She assured us that it would take no longer then two weeks." At the information, Gaara nodded. So it would be within the next two to three weeks that he would set foot through the gates of Konoha once more. Although it had only been three weeks since his last visit, he had not encountered anyone familiar.

With a prolonged stay, he was sure to see people of familiarity and he wondered what had changed with them.

He was not left long to wonder, though, as a voice spoke up from the door way and he turned his head to regard the man that he had known since the age of twelve when he had first become a genin. "If the Kazekage does not object, I propose that an escort be sent with, composed of Temari, Kankuro, and myself. It would ensure the Kazekage's safety without drawing too many of those needed her away from the village." His old team's sensei stood in the doorway, eyes focused on the face of Gaara and awaiting some form of movement that would give a positive or a negative.

Silence reigned once again in the room and the old man who had served the Fourth Kazekage and now the Fifth, petted his beard in a thoughtful way as he examined the jonin teacher that dared be so bold. Being one of the few that was close to the Kazekage, he could understand why he did not fear punishment for his boldness. "I do believe that you have just proposed a significantly grand idea. But, it is up to the Kazekage."

Since he had become the leader of his people, Gaara had grown accustomed to their ways and one of their ways was to always escort any one of importance in safety. He had never had a choice in his escort; but it had always been those of familiarity to him. Normally it was Temari, Kankuro, and Baki that escorted him and he did not see why this time it should be of any difference. Giving a small nod, he stood and looked the council members in the face in turn. "I approve it. They have escorted me before and they are the only ones I trust for this escort considering the reason why I require it." The words were spoken softly as most of his words were and the council members exchanged glances before they all smiled slightly at the words.

If the Kazekage was not arguing with what they had agreed upon then the matter was solved. This solution would cause everything to go away and they the alliance would be strong again as well as the relationship between all the Hidden Villages.

It seemed as if something good was finally coming from the entire escapade that had kept both villages on their toes for the last few weeks.

The council parted with agreement that they would meet once again in two weeks time unless another matter rose and then they would meet sooner. Gaara left with bows as a parting gift and was soon enclosed in his sanctuary, his office. So it would be in three weeks time or around that time span before he was back in Konoha to find a bride from the list of potentials. He would need to find someone worthy from a limited number and it would be difficult but he had an entire year to find them. His nineteenth birthday had only been nine days ago.

It was sad really. He did not want to share himself but at the same time, he was not adverse to the thought. In fact, the thought caused a smile to touch his lips. Since seven years ago when Naruto had changed him, he smiled more readily even if it was only a small one. He had changed.

At least while he was in Konoha, his stay would not be boring.

Naruto would ensure that.

* * *

A scream tore through the forest causing birds to take flight in fright at the sudden, gut wrenching noise. Following the scream, from the training grounds known to the jonin as the Forest of Death, the noise of another scream could be heard being ripped from the throat of the victim followed by laughter. Three figures could be seen perched in the branches of the massive trees and one in particular stood vividly out compared to the others.

With arm pinned to the tree, a kunai digging through the muscles of her skin as she raised her head and spit to the side, Sakura turned fiery sea foam green eyes upon the man facing her. "Is that all you've got, Hyuga!?" A primal war scream left her throat as summoning a burst of chakra she pressed it to the ends of her fingertips before clenching her fist and swinging it down, releasing it at the point of contact with the bark of the branch she stood on. As the branch began to shatter beneath her, the cracks spindling outward from where she had struck and toward where Hyuga Neji stood facing her panting from exertion, she reached up with hard to follow speed and tore the kunai from where it had pierced her arm. Almost instantly afterward she disappeared in a swirl of sakura blossoms before appearing behind the Byakugan user.

The kunai was thrown with chakra infused into the blade and it glowed a brilliant blue around the edges, Sakura having used a special medical jutsu that she had been taught to use on various surgical tools to make surgery more easier. Neji dodged the kunai easily although with the pulses of chakra coming from it, it tore a seam and a cut into his upper arm but he did not let it be known as he spun about and delivered a punch to where Sakura had been. Blocking the attack with her hand, she gripped his wrist and using his momentum, spun herself upward with a kick aimed for his neck. His right arm came up to block the attack and his fingers slid about her ankle before his other hand closed about her ankle right above his other hand and using chakra infused strength, he swung his sparring partner about and threw her toward the ground.

Shocked at first by the move she should have seen coming, Sakura did not right herself in time and hit the ground, sliding along the dirt and grass and creating a trail in her wake as she did so. She halted herself easily after that and came back to her feet, glaring upward at the Hyuga who now stood smirking down at her. They sparred like this often, using the training grounds that had first revealed their true strengths from their younger years to become better. Now that they worked together on the ANBU tracker squad, they had been paired as training partners. It was quite often that they could be heard dueling within the confines of the forest and at times, their matches would attract the company of their friends who would come to watch.

On that day, it was only Tenten and Rock Lee who came to observe the progress of their old teammate and the female that had become good friends with them after Naruto had left for his two and a half year training with Jiraiya. Tenten was lounging against the base of a tree some ways away with Lee beside her watching their movements and focusing on everything that they did. It had become useful for her to watch them to help them with their training as she was able to tell where their weaknesses lay generally just being an onlooker.

"Give it up, Haruno. You can't defeat me." Neji was smirking downwards at the female as he watched her straighten herself and glare upwards at him. He'd grown used to her antics of getting irritated and searching for something to use against him. It was the way that they trained together, both improving over time as they focused on the other's weaknesses. "You know who's the better. I've been wiping the forest floor with your face all day."

"Think again, Hyuga. You haven't beaten me just yet!" Without warning, she launched herself once again in his direction but quickly performed the jutsu that had become like second nature to her. Neji narrowed his eyes at the figure that rushed upward at him wondering what her game was. Sakura never attacked head on. It was not her style of fighting but since training with Tsunade, the female had improved drastically at taijutsu. Obviously it was a last resort. If Neji had only had his Byakugan activated, he would have seen through the guise though and recognized the attack for what it truly was.

Pulling shuriken from the holster he kept them, he tossed five from his fingertips before jumping back and arching upward into the air, performing quick hand seals. Cupping a hand about his mouth, fire spewed from his lips and scorched the oncoming Sakura that had dodged the shuriken. It was only when the female smirked and was hit by the oncoming flame that he realized what she was doing and was unprepared when the female herself appeared behind him and pressed the tip of the katana she held in her hand pressing into the center of his back. "You said something about how I can't defeat you, Hyuga Neji, but yet from where I stand, you have no escape." Pressing it further into his back, Sakura grinned at the fact that she had left her sparring partner helpless.

Which was why she was more then surprised when she heard the chuckle that arose from him turn into bubbling laughter, mocking laughter at his predicament.

"That's what you think, Sakura." Turning his head, his pale eyes regarded her as she watched the smirk on his lips curve more before the veins around his eyes appeared and his voice rose. "But you're wrong!" Before the fist that was now silhouetted with chakra could make contact, the petal colored female jumped away, attaching her feet further up the tree where she knelt horizontal upon it staring down at Neji.

"It seems that I am wrong. So come on, Neji! Give it all you've got!" And then they were both gone, one in a whoosh of wind and the other in a swirl of blossom petals that disappeared much like the owners had. Making a noise of disgruntled curiosity, both Tenten and Lee searched for the chakra of their friends, hoping to discover what it was that would happen next. Barely could they sense Sakura's and Neji's chakra as they fled deeper into the forest of the training grounds. The two shared a glance before taking off after them. Things had once been carried too far and neither wished it to happen again as their alarm for the two ran high.

"Sakura Blizzard Technique!" Neji's eyes narrowed as he watched the female that stood facing him on the branches of a tree higher then he and almost laughed as he watched her toss five kunai at him as if expecting him to let them hit him. Deflecting all with his kunai, it went unnoticed as the explosive tags flew away from the weapons and scattered onto his clothing. Suspicion arose though as his eyes narrowed at the female as she threw another kunai, her lips curving in a smirk as he finally noticed the explosive tag attached to the flying kunai that would activate those that had fallen onto him.

Suddenly an explosion tore through the forest and Tenten and Lee halted their movements, blocking their faces as debris went flying from where Neji and Sakura had been fighting. "Sakura! Neji!" Tenten's voice rang through the air as she instantly jumped forward and placing chakra at the soles of her feet, raced towards their location with Lee not far behind. Upon arrival they found Sakura resting on a branch panting hard with Neji's head in her lap and the Byakugan user unconscious. Taken aback by the sight, the two exchanged a glance before looking back to find the ANBU tracker looking up at them with a smile.

"Looks like I won this match!"

* * *

"Sakura, I can't believe you tore him up that badly! You need to watch yourself or one of these days you two may very well kill each other or severely injure each other like what you did today." Tenten had been lecturing the blossom haired female since they had departed from the hospital after helping get Neji there. He had just barely regained consciousness when they dropped him off and had been thoroughly irritated that he had been beaten once again by his sparring partner, taking to ignoring her rather childlike as he had talked weakly with Lee and Tenten. Sakura had grown used to sore loser antics after the third time of beating him and although it aggravated her, she had chosen to take her anger out in training rather then on the injured shinobi.

A sigh passed Sakura's lips as she sweat dropped before glancing out of the corner of her eye at the enrage brunette. It was no secret that Tenten had an attraction toward the Byakugan user, which explained the reason why she constantly lectured Sakura after their sparring matches in which one of them ended up at the hospital. It was a common occurrence, much like Neji's attitude. But it was growing old and as Sakura straightened herself, linking her fingers behind her head as she tilted her head to the side, she wondered when Tenten would finally confess her feelings. Although at that moment with the current events taking place, it might never happen.

When Tenten had come to Sakura, Lee, and Neji ranting and raving over Tsunade's barring her from further missions, Sakura had felt sympathy for the female. It seemed that they were both in the same predicament. Both were potentials for brides apparently to Gaara and neither were too happy about it due to the fact that, only being because at the age of eighteen and nineteen, neither felt that they were ready for marriage just yet. The two had shared many a long conversation discussing the matter over the past week since they had both been told they were forbade from taking any missions. Judging Lee's reaction to the matter, it had come to light for Sakura that Lee might very well have taken a liking to his female com padre but had chosen not to comment on it, not wanting to make things awkward between the two.

"Bakkin, bakkin, Tenten-chan. I won't go as hard as him as I have been even though he'll probably get upset with me." Another sigh escaped Sakura as she turned to regard Tenten from the corner of her eye, her lips pursing together. "I don't understand why you lecture me though. It's not as if you like him or anything. He's just your teammate and a ninja at that of ANBU level. I think he can take care of himself." A small smirk appeared on her lips as she watched Tenten's jaw drop open slightly before she shut it and crossed her arms over her chest, turning her head to the side.

_She's so in denial._

_**Yes! I figured it out head on! Sakura has still got it! **_Inner Sakura had been showing herself more and more lately due to the lack of missions and frankly, Sakura wanted to take her subconscious and shove it down a hole most of the time now. She got a little bit more then annoying and at times, she would find herself arguing with the imaginary female to go away and sometimes even vocalizing her thoughts, such as what she had done yesterday.

Just the thought of it made her cheeks burn as Lee began to speak. "Tenten, Sakura-chan does not mean to hurt Neji the way that she does! She is merely exerting her power in order to defend herself against his fighting style. She cannot be blamed for having to defend herself in order to stay alive so she can keep on fighting down the path of youth!" A sweat drop appeared on both Tenten and Sakura as they exchanged a glance before nodding at Lee's statement.

It was easier to agree with the "Green Beast of Konoha" rather then to argue the matter.

Stretching slightly, Sakura yawned before saying, "Let's get some ramen. I'm starving after that match and I hear Ichiraku is having a discount of some kind if you buy three bowls or more." Turning to face the others, she grinned as she tilted her head to the side. "Besides, I'm dying for some miso ramen." They all shared a laugh as they agreed and began to head down the streets towards the ramen stand.

_It's been so long since I've been there. Over three months now...since I last saw Naruto..._

Uzumaki Naruto had been absent from the village for over three months now, having been sent away on an S-class mission accompanied by their old sensei Hatake Kakashi. Their parting had been sad, the remaining members of Team Seven had been morose about the entire affair while Kakashi had been removed from it. Although Sai had become part of Team Seven and they had gotten a new sensei, it had never been the same. Sakura had felt so unwelcome in the team without Sasuke there.

Just the thought of the Uchiha caused her heart to squeeze. Why was it after so many years of his being gone, after so many years of him not being present in her life, that it still hurt her to think of him? He had been her first love and he had hurt her more then anything, taking her heart and throwing it back in her face. Even now, the thought caused a bitter smile to touch her lips. She'd changed so much since then, become the one thing that he had told her she would never become because she was weak.

_Weak. Tch. Yet...I'm one of the strongest shinobi in our village now, Sasuke. Am I still weak to you? _

"NANI!?"

The exclamation caused Sakura to react almost instantly, her kunai and katana in hand in the blink of an eye as Lee also pulled out three shuriken and took a defensive stance. Turning their heads for the danger, they did not sense anything nor did they see anything and they shared a glance of confusion. What could have possibly caused someone to cry out what like that? Neither knew as they glanced about for Tenten but upon looking around, realized that she wasn't there. "Tenten!"

Instantly Sakura was on alert, her ANBU tracker skills kicking in upon instinct and she closed her eyes, feeling for the girl's familiar chakra only to feel stupid and inane due to the fact that she was right behind her. With a sigh and a promise to stop freaking out so much over the smallest things, she turned her head to regard the bun haired girl only to find her staring wide eyed at something with a look in her eye that wondered if she dare believe it. "Tenten, what is wrong? Has the flower of youth died!? Is the blazing passage way of youth no longer open to you!?" Lee was working himself into a frenzy at the thought of a dying youth apparently and Sakura sweat dropped again.

It amazed her how little some of her friends had changed when it came to personality.

"Look! Look! Look!"

Tenten had finally seemed to recover somewhat and was now pointing exuberantly at the ramen stand that was just down the street from where they stood. Giving a hum that was similar in many ways to Gaara's own common hum, she turned her head to peer at the ramen stand as if expecting to see something unusual. Except...

Her own eyes widened as her breath hitched in her throat and a hope blossomed in her chest. Vaguely she could hear Lee proclaiming something but the words were muted as she heard her heartbeat loud and clear in her ears. A buzzing had taken place as her eyes focused on one figure and one figure alone. With trembling hands she had reached up to grasp the locket that she wore around her neck, tears coming to her eyes as she realized that her hope was not in false.

It was actually him.

"It's Naruto!"

"Naruto!" Suddenly, Sakura was moving, running down the street with Tenten following after her as she smiled and dashed toward the ramen stand. It was as if in slow motion that the blonde haired, blue eyed shinobi reacted, his head raising from where he was steadily working his way through a bowl of ramen and turning. Upon seeing the approaching ninja that had become his friends, his eyes lit up in a way that Sakura had missed, that had only recently returned since Sasuke had left. "Naruto!" Then he was standing and she was throwing herself at him.

Feeling his arms around her once again, hearing his heart beat and his laugh as he chanted her name in the way that only he could do without annoying her, only proved to the kuonichi that he was real. That it wasn't another nightmare come to haunt her and bring tears to her eyes at night wishing that her friend would return from his mission. Being swung around by him, she laughed as Tenten and Lee stood to the side, Tenten with her hands clutched before her and smiling and Lee grinning as he watched the two.

"Sakura! Tenten! Lee! It's been so long. Believe it!" At hearing the phrase that had long since been part of the Naruto she knew and loved, Sakura laughed as did Tenten while Lee gave another smile. Stepping away from him as Tenten moved to embrace the jonin, she observed him. He had changed. In more then one way, once again surprising her in the way he showed his maturity.

His hair had grown longer and although it still spiked, it seemed to flop to one side much like their old sensei's hair did. The headband was still worn in the same place after so many years and the whiskers on his face seemed to be more pronounced then usual against the dark tan that he had acquired while being gone. His attire, though, was what had really changed. Wearing the same orange jacket, it had changed by the black stripes that went down the arms and the black and white symbol of the seal upon the back of it. Beneath the jacket he wore a black fishnet shirt over a layering black under armor that appeared to be made of the same armor mesh Anko wore. Black pants that were held up by a strand of white woven rope and then the blue sandals completed it.

"You've changed..." The words passed her lips without her really meaning to let them out and drew Naruto's attention as he did a slight take at her words before grinning. She returned the smile and did not notice the quality of force that his own had taken on as she reached out and grasped his shoulder. "There's so much... We need to catch up, Naruto-kun."

The four all decided that getting ramen together and discussing everything that had happened would be good for them and so it was with smiles and laughs present as well as a new sense of comfort present, they all settled down into their seats. It had been so long since Naruto had seen Sakura as happy as she was then and he felt challenged to really open up to her even though he knew he would later on when they were alone. A stab of pain and guilt traced through his body as he regarded her quietly as she talked lightly with Tenten and a frown briefly graced his lips.

The look did not go unnoticed by Lee but he chose not to say anything as it was gone in an instant and replaced once again by Naruto's normal grin.

_How do I even begin to tell her...she'll never forgive me..._

* * *

"Come on, Tenten! Don't slack on me now!" The yell came from Sakura has she steeled herself for Tenten's next move. With a flail in hand, Tenten was a dangerous opponent. Although the sparring match was strange for the two, Neji had been busy that day and had been unable to arrive for their daily training until later due to having a mission briefing with Tsunade. Being a top ANBU captain, he was almost constantly out on missions although the last few weeks had been slacking in the missions required of him. Now he stood off to the side with Naruto and Lee.

A growl came from the female kuonichi as she looked for a defense in Sakura's stance. Their training had picked up a lot over the last few weeks when Sakura was not needed at the hospital and now the female was a force to be reckoned with. Not that she wasn't to begin with but ever since being trained by Lee in taijutsu and Neji helping her with her ninjutsu training, she had become even more so. It was difficult to fight against the fellow female without losing and that was a blow to Tenten's pride since her dream was to be as good as Tsunade herself.

Without bothering to search any longer, she performed a set of hand signs before disappearing at a speed that Sakura found difficult to follow. The smirk and the hum that came from Neji, though, showed that he was following his female teammate's moves easily. It only frustrated the apple blossomed female more as she glanced about the area in which they were training. Finally finding the faint chakra symbol just right before the flail descended upon her from behind, Sakura spun about and jumped away, sending a kunai flying back at Tenten only to have her dodge it.

Suddenly she was beside Sakura and delivering a punch that caught her on her cheek. Sakura should have dodged it easily but had become distracted by the sudden appearance of a chunin beside Naruto and Lee. Hitting the ground with a force that caused a dust cloud, she stood and spit out a slight amount of blood. Tenten was learning how to focus more chakra into her taijutsu. _Good. I need a more efficient opponent who's picking up on what I do. _A smirk curved her lips as she stood and began to perform some hand signs of her own just as the clone of Temari tried to catch her from behind only to have Sakura drop and extend her leg, spinning in a complete circle and knocking the clone Temari down.

It disappeared in a poof and was replaced by a log as Sakura almost finished the ninjutsu but was interrupted by Naruto. "Sakura! Tsunade-sama wants us in her office now!" A vivid stream of curses came from Sakura as she straightened herself and ceased her hand signs. Just when things were becoming heated once again, Tsunade needed them. Glancing at Tenten who now stood straight and was holstering the flail onto her back, she nodded at the female and the nod was returned. This would be settled later on.

"All right, Naruto. I'll be there soon." Turning to face Tenten, she smiled and waved. "Good match, Tenten. This isn't over though, so be prepared for a harder match next time." Disappearing in a storm of sakura blossoms, the female was gone and left Tenten, Lee, and Neji to wonder what could have called the two away from their training.

Both Sakura and Naruto appeared before the Hokage Tower, glancing at one another before sighing. Sakura knew that this would not be about a mission although from the stream of chatter coming from Naruto, he believed it to be so. She hadn't bothered to explain to the fellow ninja why she was barred from participating in any mission for the time being. It was still bothering her although until now, she had not thought about it. Being so busy with training and hospital work, she had not allowed her mind to linger on the unpleasant approach of the Kazekage's arrival and the potential thought that she might end up getting married although she highly doubted it.

"Finally, another mission! It's been so long since we were last on one together, eh, Sakura-chan? I hope it's a long one! A hard one too! The last ones have been too easy. I haven't had a nice, difficult one since the three month mission with Kakashi-sensei." Sakura smiled fondly as she listened to the Kyuubi container babble on about the potential of what mission he believed they might be sent on. He sounded just like when he was twelve and when he was fifteen, shortly after completing the chunin exams and becoming a chunin like the others had been at the time. She missed those days.

Moving through the entrance, they didn't bother to stop at the receptionist desk, instead only receiving a greeting when once upon a time they would receive a reprimand for going by without clarifying who they were and why they were there. As they ascended the stairs, Sakura's face became slightly serious as she thought of what Tsunade could be calling them for. Surely it had something to do with the arrival of Gaara coming. Three weeks had passed since she had last heard anything about the upcoming arrival of him and that had been a week before Naruto had returned.

When they pushed through the doors into Tsunade's office, she was sure of it. And her suspicions were only confirmed when the blonde Hokage glanced up from her paperwork to see who it was entering and smiled. "Naruto, Sakura." Bowing before Tsunade, each stood before her with curious glances on their faces. Sakura's worried and Naruto's eager as they waited for her to say something.

"Granny-chan, what is it? Is it another mission!?" Almost right after Naruto said it, Sakura grinned and shook her head, laughing to herself. Although he had changed, he hadn't. He was still hyperactive and impatient when it came to doing something he wanted to do. Her laugh was joined by Tsunade's as the Hokage smiled at the two.

"Actually, it is. The Kazekage will soon be arriving, within the next hour, and you two are going to be greeting him." At this announcement, Sakura sucked in a breath.

_Oh no. _

Right then, she hated Tsunade. She didn't want to meet Gaara. She didn't want to see him. Not when she was a potential in his need to find a bride to reinforce the relationship that Suna had with Konoha. But she had no choice and as Naruto began to exclaim, "All right! Gaara-sama is back!" she shut her eyes and vowed that no matter what...

_No matter what happens, I vow I will never let Gaara think for a second to choose me. Never. I cannot abandon my village._

Even as the thought rang through her mind, she knew there was an underlying message to it but she refused to think it even though her mind betrayed her as she sighed and turned to make her way out with the now positively delighted Naruto.

_I...I cannot abandon _him.

* * *

"Kankuro! No! You can't do that!" They had decided to stop for a break for lunch and now Gaara was regretting ever permitting the group to halt. They were only an hour away from Konoha but they had skipped breakfast that morning and it had finally been the grating of his older brother's whining on his nerves that had convinced that they should stop. Although Gaara was not prone to outbursts of violence anymore, he still had some and one quick way to work toward that was by listening to someone whine, much like his brother was doing now.

A throbbing had taken residence in his head and he was massaging his temples as he glared at his two siblings through black rimmed eyes, wondering if they even noticed the fact that he wanted to do nothing short of killing them. "Temari, it's just a roasted chestnut! You can live without it!"

_You would think after living with Temari for more then twenty years now, Kankuro would realize that she would do anything for her favorite foods._

"KANKURO!" With patience straining with her younger sibling, the kuonichi didn't bother to hide her anger anymore as she lunged over the travelling packs that sat between the two and proceeded to tackle the tattooed puppet master to the ground, all the while reaching for the pack of roasted chestnuts he held out of her reach. "Give me my roasted chestnuts now!" All the while, Baki was sitting some feet away, merely watching the escapade with an amused smirk on his face. It took all of Gaara's self control to keep his anger in check as he watched them.

"AH! Temari, get off of me!" He struggled with his sister before finally tossing the roasted chestnuts out of the way and pushing her off with both hands. "Jeez. They're just chestnuts!" But Temari wasn't listening as she had instantly gone for the chestnuts and was now busy ignoring her tattoo faced brother. A small tick of anger appeared on his forehead but he ignored his emotions as he focused in on Gaara, wondering why the red headed man hadn't reacted at all to their argument. Normally he could not stand to be around them when they bickered but every week that had passed since they had been informed he would be getting married to a Konoha ninja, his anger seemed to have been in check more then usual. "Gaara..."

Gaara's hard jade eyes rose to meet his brother's own small eyes. Kankuro knew that something was bothering his younger brother but he did not interrogate him about it as he merely stared at him. Since they were younger, since before Gaara had become Kazekage, the red haired sand wielder had begun to share his dreams and more things about himself with him. They had become closer and the puppet master had grown a protective streak over him even though he had known he could take care of himself. The protective streak had only heightened upon the extraction of Shukaku from him and after he had died only to be revived. Unknown to Gaara, Kankuro had his own devices that he needed to get up to when he was present in Konoha, such as thanking someone who had saved his brother's life.

Suddenly Gaara stood and Temari glanced up at the sudden movement, her happy face falling into one of curiosity as she watched the Kazekage robed man shake his head before whispering something. Neither heard and neither inquired as Baki also stood and moved to Gaara's side. Temari and Kankuro followed suit and after gathering their travelling packs, exchanged glances with Gaara who merely nodded, giving the sign that they were leaving now. It was time they reached Konoha. It was time that he got what he was sure to be torture over with and just chose someone.

At a chakra heightened pace, they cut through the forest. Temari and Kankuro no longer complained about the pace after having aten something and so they continued on as they had before. Baki knew that if they travelled at this rate, they would reach the Hidden Leaf Village in half the time that it would normally take. Gaara was anxious. He could tell by the small flow of sand that was seeping from underneath the cork without the young man noticing from his gourd. After eight years of training with the youngster, he had grown used to such habits and did not press it as he merely narrowed his eyes and following while still scanning the area about them.

_I do not want to be part of this. Suna requires my attention and due to civilians that are arguing over foreign civilians being in their village, I have been called away to do something that is absolutely inane. Just so strengthen ties with a village that is just as powerful as ours. _

Gaara's eyes narrowed as the bitterness and anger grew inside of him. Although he had finally allowed people to become close to him, mostly only Kankuro and Temari though, he did not feel the need to let anyone else. The maiden that he ended up marrying would only live in misery and even if it was for the best of his village, he did not wish for any that were on the potential list to go through that. Even as the sight of the Konoha gates came into view and his eyes narrowed as he recognized two familiar figures waiting, one currently being beat over the head by the female of pink hair, he smirked and chuckled.

The sound drew Kankuro and Temari's attention and they wondered at it but as they watched his fingers slip backward and into the pouch where they knew he kept his scrolls, they weren't sure that they wanted to know as they focused attention on the approaching gates and the two ninja that awaited them.

_It figures you would do this, Tsunade. Send one of the potentials to meet me. _

The scroll in his holster bag was one that held detailed information about every kuonichi in the village that was considered to be a potential and Haruno Sakura was on it and was described in much more detail then the medic-nin probably knew about. Even as he heard the cries of, "Gaara-san! Welcome back!" coming from Naruto, his flattened jade eyes locked with emerald eyes and they mixed, blending together in their stares as Gaara and his companions came to a halt. They offered a challenge to him, defying him, staring indignantly at him with a haughtiness and confidence that had been absent from the female the last time he had seen her.

_My, my, my... This may very well be entertaining after all._

* * *

**Author's Note: **Mmhmm and now the chapter is over. Jeez. It was really long. I was thinking maybe I should cut it up into shorter chapters but...I just didn't want to. I feel like it's perfect the way it is. Anyways though. I've decided I'm kind of going to do a little preview thing with each chapter, leave you hanging maybe so that way you want to find out what happens next. So here it is!

* * *

**Chapter Three**

His breath was hot on her ear and her eyes were widening with every moment as she felt his hands scorching their imprint into her hips. Long ago, the function of breathing had halted and she found herself frightened, sweat slowly sprouting upon her skin and sliding down the alabaster flesh. He shouldn't be able to do this to her. She was _his_ and _his _alone.

"You hold it like this..." Moving his hands up over her sides, caressing the clothing she wore as if it were the softest of things, letting his fingers linger in sensitive spots that only caused her breath to hitch once again and her eyes to widen further. They trailed over her arms, touching on the extremely sensitive underskin as he finally came to grasp her wrists, bending them slightly and then moving his hands back down to her elbows, bending them again further. "Like this...you see the way the blades curve...that is the way the chidori are meant to be wielded."

She was not meant to lose control like this; she should be focusing on her training and focusing on what he was saying! This was vital to her survival on her missions but yet she couldn't. She couldn't focus on anything that he was doing, teaching her. Instead, all she could focus on was the heat of his chest pressed against her back, the way it felt to have his arms around her, the breath that caressed her ear and left shivers rolling down her back, how every touch seemed to inspire flames within her. She should have felt guilty!

She was betraying _him_.

And she was enjoying it.

* * *

So what did you think? Nani? Did it leave you guessing maybe? Anyways, I would really like it if you reviewed. It would make a happy writer out of me. kakashi happy eye Anyways though, I really do want to get to work on the third chapter so I guess this is where I leave you all.

Ja ne!

Ryaka


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's Note: **WOW! That was a lot of reviews for the second chapter. I could not believe it when I read them all. I'm really sorry that I bailed like that for a while there. Some things came up. I'm not going to explain what but let's just say that for two weeks I was in a motel with no computer. I had already finished this chapter but we had to leave so suddenly that I didn't really get the chance to upload this. But thank you so much you guys! I really appreciated all the reviews.

**NOTE: **I'm not sure if any of you have seen my new GaaSaku fanfic that I posted. It's called _Enchanted Hatred and Love_ and I'm using a concept in there that I'm also going to be applying to this story. So don't go thinking this is going to be lovey dovey between Gaara and Sakura any time soon. I've got some major plot twists in mind. One that's going to be happening next chapter in fact.

**Disclaimer:** Nothing that is mentioned in the Naruto world belongs to me beyond the plot line of this story.

* * *

**Intoxicating Desert Rose**

_By Ryaka_

**Chapter Three**

Tension clung to the shoulders of the pink haired kuonichi that was currently staring down an armed dummy as if thrown into thought suddenly before from seemingly nowhere, five shuriken were delivered into the five targets that had been pasted onto the dummy. In the glimmering of the moonlight, though, a sparkling could be seen and if a person looked close enough, they would see five lines that had been attached to the shuriken. Another blink of her eyes passed and they were suddenly gone as Sakura spun about and they appeared in another armed dummy further down the line.

Tenten had long ago taught her the trick and they both practiced daily with it, sometime even against each other, but using the dulled edge shuriken and kunai as to not severely injure one another. It was something that Sakura had grown to love in the days, something that was not part of her every day routine that she had seemingly fallen into since being barred from missions. At the thought of her stationary presence, a growl let loose from her throat and she spun about, the shuriken once again disappearing and a whistling sound split the night as they became lodged in a tree, shaking it slightly and causing leaves to fall in a rain to the forest floor.

She hated these nights, these nights where she couldn't sleep. It was during this time she was left to her thoughts and at times she wondered if maybe her sanity was slipping. So much pain, so many memories, so much angst that filled her and reminded her of the agony that her life had become. At times, it was too much and so she would train to distract herself but with the presence of the Kazekage in her village, the person that could change her entire life and future with one decision over the next ten months, her mind would not rest and let her slip into the void that she called training.

A growl escaped her lips as her free hand dipped to her shuriken pouch and slipped easily into the wire loops that she had positioned there. With five more shuriken in hand, she began to twirl and dip onto her legs, jumping back and working her body as if she were dancing. The entire time, the shuriken were moving, digging into the dummies about her and staying there before being ripped from their new homes and being lodged into another. This was the part of her routine that she loved the most, acting as if she were doing a dance, a beautiful but deadly one as _he _had described it far too often.

Just the thought of _him _caused her to smile as she shut her eyes and continued to twirl, this time jumping to the side and rebounding off a tree, twisting her body and her legs opening as she landed on one and then came to a stand on the other. For some time, she continued like this, her thoughts occupied with the thought of the next time she would see _him._

_He_ was the only one out of all of them that could make her heart pound and soar with just one look. They never met under company but rather in secret and even though she knew that it was nothing more then what they did, it was something she looked forward to. They would train together and then... Her smile turned to that of a grin as she remembered the last time and as she let her mind bring the memories back to life, her foot slipped from beneath her and before she could regain her balance, she was falling to the ground.

A groan passed her lips as she lay on the ground, the shuriken stuck in the dummies that they had dug into right before she had fallen. Now she glared upward at the gleaming metal before sighing and letting her head fall backward and she became wrapped up in the memory of what occurred whenever they were together alone. It was an amazing experience but beyond what they had, there was nothing there, no romantic feelings or any of that type. They needed one another after the pain that they had both suffered and so they had become each other's solutions to the problem.

Even now, she knew _he _would come. _He _wouldn't be able to stay from her on a night like this, where the air clung to her skin and dampened her clothes with the sweat it brought to her flesh. _He _would know she was out here training and that she would be waiting for him to show _his _face, waiting and watching.

_It wouldn't shock me if _he _were already here, waiting and watching until I call for _him

Pushing herself up from the ground, Sakura let out a sigh before pulling the strings once again and catching the shuriken between her fingers. She tucked them away back into her bags and shut her eyes, manipulating her chakra with her mind and pushing it outward to touch upon any other chakras that would be near by. It was a technique that Tsunade had taught her how to do and the woman was still teaching her how to hide it while doing so. The only time another shinobi would be alerted was if her chakra touched theirs.

Almost immediately after doing so, her chakra alerted her that there was another there and by the caress of theirs against hers, she knew it was _him. _

"I knew you would come..."

Her words resonated through the night as she looked upward into the trees, her eyes meeting another gaze as she did so and latching onto it, never straying as she smirked upward at him. A soft hum seemed to come from the male that they belonged to and suddenly he was before her, grasping her chin between strong fingers as both gazes softened toward one another. As they stood there, looking through one another and into each other's souls, they seemed to communicate silently.

_This will be the last time._

_'I know.'_

_With what's going on, we can't...we can't do this anymore._

_'Hn. I realize.'_

_Then why did you come?_

_'I had to...I need you.'_

_Oh..._

_'Yeah.'_

_I wish...I wish this wasn't happening. I can't survive without this._

_'Then why do we have to stop?'_

_They'll figure it out if we don't._

_'Tch. Not if we meet in the dark. No one knows when we meet in the dark.'_

_'I'm right and you know it...do you want it to stop?'_

_You know the answer already._

_'Fine. If you so believe they want it to stop...I'll make you scream it.'_

As if the words had been said, Sakura jerked away from the wrapped hand and stared to the side, her eyes bright and swirling with confusion as she stared at the swaying grass in the wind. _He_ had been the reason why she was able to continue. Their arrangement had caused her sanity to stay in grip, to not slip like it had wanted to do so many times before. Each time _he _had saved her. And now...now she would not have that savior due to what had happened. She would be vulnerable and open.

Suddenly she was enveloped in an embrace and clutched to a hardened, masculine chest. It was almost tentatively she reached up and embraced him back, her fingers curling into the cloth of his vest as she buried her face against his chest. As he began to speak, she felt the rumbling of his deep voice in his chest and she sighed. "You're scared, Sakura-chan. You're frightened to death of the unknown..."

"Yes...I am."

"You don't have to be...there can be some form of familiarity if you let it."

At his statement, there was silence but with a fierceness she wrenched herself away from him and shoved him backwards. His back met with the bark of the tree and then, there were no words exchanged as lips met lips in a fiery battle of wills.

For the night, their conversation was shut.

What happened next needed no words.

* * *

It was with a silence of stone that he watched from the tree that he lay perched in, his eyes drawn and attached to that of two people, one female and another male consumed within their passion. It was too often that he had watched such scenes back in his home. Never before had it angered him but yet...yet there was something rising within him that he did not understand.

Anger.

Jealousy.

Hate.

Three emotions that he had once been so familiar with, had come to acknowledge as parts of him that would never go away but yet...now...he did not understand. They came differently then before.

A small tsk escaped his lips as he watched, his eyes narrowing as he observed the way the male's hands roamed over the petite and curvaceous body of the one that writhed in pleasure beneath him. How was it that they could perform such an act out here in the woods? The thought came unbidden to his mind and before the small part of him that was still claimed by that Shukaku could come alive, he shoved it away.

For the last four years, he had not told anyone of the small portion of the demon that still resided within him. It was very small but until the demon was released from the vessel that the Akatsuki kept hold of it in, the rest of it would not be restored. The thought angered him slightly. For four years, he had thought he was free but then, a night two weeks ago whilst he had been sleeping, the demon had eaten away a portion of his mind and grown stronger. Grown strong enough for him to acknowledge the fact that he was still there but before, it had been too weak for him to notice the presence.

The sudden scent of the female's arousal filled his nostrils and he shut his eyes, breathing in deeply as he inhaled the aroma deeply. It smelled like cherry blossoms, like flowers about to bloom but yet had not reached their peak in growth.

It was the scent of Sakura.

A deep seated growl escaped the male as his eyes narrowed one last time upon the scene, the female's moans spiking in his ears as he watched her body arch against the male that loomed over her, before with a whirl of sand, he was gone.

* * *

"Shizune-chan, what is the status on the potentials?"

The morning had seemed to drag on for both females that sat in the office of the Hokage Tower and now, as the afternoon was coming to a close, it seemed as if time had slowed further. Throughout the day, there had been a constant stream of complaints from the women that had been told they were not allowed to leave the village until the Kazekage had chosen his bride and it was quickly growing old. One in particular had continued to lodge complaints and so had her friends due to the emotional state she had been thrown into.

A cough echoed through the room as the brown haired medical nin jonin straightened her desk as if stalling for time. The last thing she wanted to do was report on the latest document that had come into their office that had held yet another complaint.

"Shizune! I do not have all afternoon to dawdle on this. I want to know now!" Tsunade, the Fifth Hokage, was fed up with everything that was happening. If she had known how many complaints, and how many sake bottles, she would have coming to her, and she would be going through, she would have found another way to solve the alliance problem. The blonde haired older woman sighed as she let her head rest upon her hand, shutting her eyes as she tried to clear her muddled thoughts.

_I need to stop drinking..._

A sigh could be heard as Shizune finished straightening and then pulled a document to sit in front of her, staring down at it hard. It was the tapping of a heeled foot that finally convinced her that she should start speaking now. "In the case of Haruno Sakura...she's been sighted recently with a male and seems to be having liaisons of some sort with him but no one is quite sure. Ino Yamanaka appears to have been involved with a male and from what the rumors are saying, she is distraught over the fact that due to recent events he has broken off their relationship. He was apparently about ready to pop the question to her. Tenten -" a sudden buzzing of a fly distracted Tsunade briefly as she swatted at it and drove it away, temporarily missing the reciting of Tenten's last name.

"- is apparently quite taken with Hyuuga Neji but the feelings are not reciprocated and so she has no problem with the current arrangement. Uzumaki Naruto has voiced on several occasions his argument on why Hyuuga Hinata should not be involved but as they have never really stated that they are together, she has not voiced a problem with it herself. Meanwhile..."

Tsunade slammed her fist down on the table suddenly, jarring Shizune and causing her to squeak as she halted her reading. "This is getting out of control! I realize they have a problem with what we must do, but this has to be done. We do not have any...there is no other solution. With a kuonichi of respectable standing married to the Kazekage, we could avoid war. We would be strong and there would be no standing against us with that alliance with Wind in our hands."

A silence filled the office as both females sat in contemplative thought over what could happen if this did not go through the way it was meant to. They both knew the consequences if such a thing occurred. Especially with the information that had just come in that morning that could mean a full blown war between all the Hidden Villages.

"Shizune...get me another bottle of sake, please."

* * *

"Don't do this! I can't help the fact that I like him! And you should know that!" Her voice rose to a crescendo as a small tear slid from her eye and down the curvature of her cheek. As she said the words, staring deep into a set of deep brown almost black eyes, her chin began to quiver slightly at the intense amount of emotions she felt. The one she had liked for over seven years had already refused her, saying that fraternization between teammates would only interfere with the team dynamics and the way they worked together.

Now, the only one she had to turn to as part of her old team was abandoning her as well and as a choked sob escaped her throat, she wondered how they would work together now.

"For seven years you've chased after him. The power of love and youth is worth that chase, yes, but his eyes are set on someone else that holds the gracefulness of youth different from yours, Tenten!" His words were barely growled out at the female as he turned his back on her, placing a palm against the tree that he had trained against for years whilst he was younger. How was it that they had ended up here, at his cherished place, arguing? He didn't know. She had sought him out and he had brought her here a year ago to confess to her...to finally say what he had wanted to say but she had...

As he thought of the incident that had occurred a year ago, his free hand clenched and his eyes shut in anger at himself for once again falling for one that did not love him back. How many paths of love and youth would he travel down before he found the one who could love him with all their heart like he would with them? He didn't know and if it weren't for his way of the ninja, he was sure he would have given up by now. It was tearing him apart even now to listen to what she was saying.

"I love Neji! He's been my everything next to my friends for the last seven years and you're asking me to throw that away or else you'll leave our friendship in the dirt. I can't do that... I can't..." Her eyes were downcast as she spoke the words. A wind blew against her skin, caressing it in the manner a lover would to another. It reminded her of the soft moments that she had shared with both males of her team, soft moments that would not be happening again if they parted ways over the feelings that she held for one.

Suddenly she was jerking away from the man before her, staring at him with wide eyes as she wondered what it was she had done wrong. His fist was embedded within the center of the tree that bore the scars of his younger training days as a genin and academy student. Was he angered?

Angry puffs of breath blew from his lips as he glared at the bark before him, staring at the splinters that resembled the bonds of their friendship right then shattering before his eyes. He could easily fix the friendship if he wanted, turn around to her and embrace her and whisper that it was all right, nothing was wrong, within her ear and go on as if this had never happened. But he couldn't bring himself to do what he didn't want to do anymore. He was tired of being walked over constantly.

He refused to have it happen any longer, not after Sakura.

"Then this is it...Tenten... I've seen you cry too many times, heard you whisper his name in your sleep in agony too many times. I can't handle it anymore. I have stood by for three years now and watched it happen with a slowly breaking heart. It's..." The words were difficult to say and even as he began to speak, he could already feel the courage that had built inside him due to anger fading. How did he tell someone that he loved he could not be near them anymore without his own heart being torn to pieces because the heart of the one he loved was breaking?

"Don't..."

"No! Don't say don't! I have to do this! I cannot stand by anymore and watch you throw away your life for someone who will never care about you!" With the sudden outburst of anger, his voice rising in volume and pitch as he spun about, the second man of her team glared daggers at her. "I'm sick of waiting for you, sick of waiting for you to come cry on my shoulder because of the cruel truth. I'm sick and tired of being secondary. Don't you realize that!?"

A muffled name came from her lips as she pressed her hands against her mouth, squeezing her eyes shut as she did and letting her sobs come out full force against her flesh. This wasn't happening. She couldn't bear to lose him as well...not when...

"I love you, Tenten. I've loved you for three years. Three years in which I've watched you cry, being broken, and re-mended over and over as if it were a bad opera that would not end. My youth...my patience can only take so much... Just like my heart. I can't handle this any longer. Not until you realize that...that he will never love you and I always will." His voice had softened as if he were tired. As she opened her eyes and removed her hands to speak, she took in his appearance and another sob strangled her voice once more. She had done this to him. She was to blame for his loss of vigor and the sparkle of happiness in his soulful eyes.

His entire appearance spoke of being drained as if he were weary from travel. Normally he stood with a confidence and pride that resonated from him in waves and gave that confidence to any around him. But now...now he resembled an old man as if he had aged years over the past thirty minutes they had stood arguing. His gaze was dull and lifeless, no longer glinting or sparkling like it had done before their meeting, before he had blown up at her finally for talking of Neji again.

How could she have not noticed the toll that her words and actions had upon the friend before her?

"I'm sorry, Tenten. But...until you realize...I can't...I can't handle this..."

And with those final words, he was gone and the female responsible for it fell to her knees and sobbed.

* * *

_How has it come to this? I don't understand..._

The thoughts had filled her mind for hours upon hours now. What had happened was not supposed to turn out this way. Somewhere along the line of the last year since his death, when she had turned to the only other who sought comfort like she did, her heart had betrayed her vow to never love again. Now her heart belonged to _him_ and she couldn't have that.

Since it had happened, she had wasted hours of her time that could have been spent training, working, doing anything but think about the current situation doing exactly what she did not wanted to do: think upon the occurrence that had turned her world upside down. There were so many times that she wished she could go back in time and redo what had happened, make sure that it never happened in any way. But she knew now that there was no going back. That was why she had tried to break off what they had.

And had failed miserably because of her own weakness – no, her addiction – for what they had.

_Why _him?_ He was supposed to be nothing more then comfort._

And now it was more complicated then ever.

With a marriage that she might be forced into thrown her way, she had to break it off or else there could be consequences if anyone was to discover the secret that they had held precious for a year now. The last thing that Sakura needed was for anyone to discover what was going on between her and _him. _Especially Tsunade, the Hokage, and the one who had adopted her into her clan after her own parents had been assassinated on a mission three years ago.

A hand came up to cradle her head as she bowed it, her thoughts causing a small ache to pound through her head. The metal grating of the table she sat at dug deep into the tender skin of her elbow as she sat outside the small cafe that was hidden away in the busy streets of Konoha. Before her sat a cup of steaming coffee that she had ordered a half hour ago, growing colder as she continued to be lost within her mind. As if sensing her aggravation, a small wind blew through the city as she released a sigh from her lips.

_I don't understand..._

For the entirety that she had known _him_, not once had she ever felt more then annoyance and attraction toward him. And the attraction had been purely physical based but somewhere along the line, they had become friends, getting to know one another as Naruto knew her. When they met in the dark of the night or for their own private training sessions, he could tell what her mood was and read what was going on, or a smidgeon of it, between the lines just by watching her. It annoyed and amazed her at the same time, leaving her smiling and comforted with the thought that someone knew and cared for her that much to get to know her that well.

Now it just left her wondering why she had let him in when she had closed so many out.

Even when she had become involved with _him, _she had known that he held more then just sexual attraction for her. She had known but yet she had still proceeded to commence the compromise that they now had between each other. And now things had changed.

_Now I love him...and I can't do anything about it because of _Gaara...

Her fist slammed down onto the table in anger and growl tore from her thought as she stood up, her face set in determination as she pushed the chair away and without bothering to grab her coffee, she stalked away from the table. Sakura was angry, hurt, confused, and frustrated to a degree that only one another person had ever caused her to feel.

Sasuke.

It had been so long since she had held so many negative emotions within her. It had been year since she had felt like this and that was only when she had been...

_No._

She wouldn't allow her thoughts to traipse down that long, painful road that would leave her in even more pain. There was no time for such emotions within her life where she stood now. There was no time for emotions that she had deemed worthless long ago when she had become an ANBU tracker and had learned the lessons of pain and how to inflict it upon others.

_I need to escape._

Suffocation had set in upon her mind and she felt as if the very air around her was closing in upon her, trying to break her and trap her within the barrage that had become her thoughts. Too many times had it happened before and, like before, she needed to escape before it became too much for her to bare and she broke down. It was time to push herself to the limit.

As she thought of it, a small smirk tilted her lips upward and she quickened her pace.

_It was time to train._

* * *

It had been five days time since he had found her with _him _in the woods, performing an act of love that he had never seen done before but had heard of through the overheard conversations shared between Temari and those around her.

It had been five days time since he had begun to think on what he would do in order to retrieve her attention and capture her as his.

It had been five days time since she had filled his mind and taken hold of everything, consuming him and causing him to obsess over her.

_Her._

Nothing more then a once upon a time weak kuonichi who's goal in life had been to capture the attention of someone that was not worthy of her, a kuonichi that had been a waste of breathing space.

_Her._

Now she was so much more then that, but yet she wasted her time on the likes of _him, _who could have been an exact replica of the Uchiha in every way except with more emotion and less power.

_It disgusted him_.

She could achieve so much more then what she already had but yet she settled for less and it baffled him and the mere shadow of the demon that he held inside. It was almost as if she didn't realize that she could do better then what she had done.

A small tisk escaped his lips as his sea green gaze focused upon the night sky above him, his sand wrapping in tendrils about his figure as if to comfort the traitorous thoughts that whirled through his mind. Why did he worry about it so? It was her choice to do what she wanted but yet he felt compelled to make her realize that she was worthy. That she was a goddess in her own right.

A deep growl escaped from his throat and unknowingly, he resembled the same kuonichi that was wrapped within his thoughts as his hand came to pressed against his forehead.

_I need her out of my thoughts. _

_I need to escape. _

_But how?_

Suddenly he was upon his feet and away into the night sky, his sand carrying him as he rode on it through the night sky toward the Forest of Death. The area where he had gone though the trials when he had first come to Konoha. He needed to train and escape what had corrupted and consumed him before it was too late and right then, the only solution was training.

It would have been perfect had he not felt the familiar chakra that greeted him and the cry of a warrior striving to push themselves to the limit when he arrived there.

Kami had a sick way of answering people was his only thought before he was lost in the sight of the blossom haired beauty that was Sakura twirling with a katana in her hands as she fought against imaginary enemies.

Time had become a blur for the female known as Sakura as she continuously trained the different techniques that she had learned, her senses alert and her body slowing falling into a sense of exhaustion that seemed to have become part of her. But yet she stilled pushed onward. If she stopped, her thoughts would once more turn to _him _and she could not allow that to happen. She needed to focus and to keep training, to hone her skills constantly and be on the very top of her game when she hit the missions field again.

Now as she continuously swung and parried the weapons the imaginary fighters before her, she almost swore when she felt another chakra enter the area. If it was _him, _she would be angry. He had been the one that she was trying to escape and if he found her...

But even as she let out a cry and swung viciously at a tree, digging the blade deep within the bark before tearing it away and sending chunks of the wood flying into the air, she wrenched her mind away from that path. As she ran one handed at a wide oak that stood near by, her hand slipped into her kunai holster and out came four shuriken held between her fingers. Sending them flying before she struck, as she danced backward she yanked her hand back and from where the shuriken had landed, they tore free from the bark and back around to wrap about her wrist before he flung them outward once again.

With a rueful laugh she watched as the strings they were attached to wrapped about the trunk and then she had lunged forward, the blade stabbing straight into the bark. If the tree had been another ninja, they would have been gutted and killed as she snapped the blade upward and left a trailing mark deep upon the wood of the tree. It was she moved backward to attack another opposing thing of wooden nature that she halted upon her back touching something hard that was warm and...

_Alive._

Suddenly she was tense and her breath hitched entirely as she realized that she had let her guard down. If it had been an enemy ninja, if it _was _an enemy ninja, then she was screwed. They could easily kill her right then but even as she closed her eyes and tensed further, waiting for the blow to come, she was shocked when she heard the deep rumbles of a chuckle behind her.

Spinning about, her eyes widened as she realized that the man she stood staring up at was none other then Sabaku no Gaara.

"You yield the blade wrong but I'm sure you know that. Let me show you the correct way." Without even waiting for her acceptance of his offer, she was turned back around and his arms were wrapped around her.

His breath was hot on her ear and her eyes were widening with every moment as she felt his hands scorching their imprint into her hips. Long ago, the function of breathing had halted and she found herself frightened, sweat slowly sprouting upon her skin and sliding down the alabaster flesh. He shouldn't be able to do this to her. She was _his_ and _his _alone.

"You hold it like this..." Moving his hands up over her sides, caressing the clothing she wore as if it were the softest of things, letting his fingers linger in sensitive spots that only caused her breath to hitch once again and her eyes to widen further. They trailed over her arms, touching on the extremely sensitive underskin as he finally came to grasp her wrists, bending them slightly and then moving his hands back down to her elbows, bending them again further. "Like this...you see the way the blade curves...that is the way the katana are meant to be wielded."

She was not meant to lose control like this; she should be focusing on her training and focusing on what he was saying! This was vital to her survival on her missions but yet she couldn't. She couldn't focus on anything that he was doing, teaching her. Instead, all she could focus on was the heat of his chest pressed against her back, the way it felt to have his arms around her, the breath that caressed her ear and left shivers rolling down her back, how every touch seemed to inspire flames within her. She should have felt guilty!

She was betraying _him_.

And she was enjoying it.

Shaky breaths left her lips as her eyes remained wide. Betrayal and confusion lacerated her heart and mind as she tried to figure out why her body was turning traitor upon her. It was not supposed to happen like this! The one that she was meant to turn against her so she could be with _him, _the one who owned her heart, was not the one that she was meant to be attracted to. But yet as she felt his hands continue to linger on her wrists, his breath to quicken in her ear, she knew that it was futile.

Something had happened between the two of them within the space of a mere three minutes and there was no going back. The voice in her mind whispered that she was doomed. Doomed to what? The question was left unanswered as she heard his intake of breath before she felt the whoosh and the sound of him disappearing in the whirl of sand that was his trademark.

For how long she stood there frozen and shaking, still able to feel the heat of his body against hers and where he had touched her, she did not know. But when her knees finally gave way, she fell to the ground and she sat there until the sun's fingers stretched lazily upward to grip the sky and chase away the darkness of the night. It was only then that she could move again willingly.

It was only then that she realized she had to make Gaara hate her in any way possible.

* * *

**Author's Note: **Bwahaha, there you go! End of the chapter and the next one will be coming soon. I promise this to you and it has some rather interesting things. I hope you guys enjoyed it and to recieve as many reviews as I did last time. Oh, and thank you for the advice on the chapter any that gave it, I'm going through and editing the chapters. At times I miss things though. Anyways, here is the preview and after that, I bid you adieu!

**Chapter Four Preview**

_He needed away from this female that stood before him with flashing indignant eyes at the way he had treated he; he needed to escape the emotions she riled within him. It took every ounce of self control he held within him to stop himself from launching at her and showing her exactly how he wished to treat her. But that would spoil the plan he had crafted and would ruin everything that he had already achieved, everything he had discovered. All he had to do was remain in control. _

_If only the woman before him didn't have such control over the buttons that caused his anger._

_"I can't believe you! What the hell have I done to you, huh? NOTHING! And you treat me like this!? Well, here's something for you. I hate you! I never want to be near you but I'm forced to be by this damned marriage thing. Congratulations, you've caused one of the candidates to hate you!"_

_Her words were stinging in the essence of tone they held behind them and once again, he felt the urge to wince as her grating voice echoed through his head. It was like a chastising mother, not that he had ever had one. Temari could take over the role quite well when she wanted to though. A shudder rolled over him as he imagined her as Temari, causing bile to rise in his throat and disgust to shift over him._

_That was it._

_He needed to get laid._

_And quick._

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